To paraphrase a saying from the civil rights movement of the sixties, we’re not what we ought to be, we’re not what we want to be, we’re not what we’re going to be, but thank God, we’re not what we were.

Over the last year, we’ve made some remarkable strides, notably in establishing better relations with our colleagues of the West. Council members who ran as the WGAEmpowered slate last year were the vanguard of that unprecedented effort. That’s one reason I’m honored to be running as a candidate on this year’s Empowered slate and urge you to vote not only for me but my fellow slate members: John Auerbach, Walter Bernstein, David Steven Cohen, Gina Gionfriddo, Andy Meppen, Marianne Pryor and Bob Schneider.

At the same time, we realize that while normalization of relations with the West eases the way ahead there remain an enormous number of challenges and difficulties. Primary among them is the upcoming MBA negotiation, which may be the most significant in our union’s history. At issue will be not only the health care and pension disputes that plague all of organized labor, but the overwhelming dilemma of the Internet and other new technology and future media. How do we make sure we get our fair share and not get shafted, a la the DVD debacle?

It’s hard to be sure. Moore’s Law is at play – the rule first posited by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore that, roughly speaking, the processing power of computers doubles every 18 months. The speed and uncertainty that notion generates go right to the gut of the entertainment industry itself. In this era of content being generated not only for movie and television screens but computers, iPods, mobile phones and God knows what other technologies that lurk around the cyberspace corner, it’s crucial that our leadership be well armed with the information to face the studios and networks head on.

Despite the shell games, the creative accounting and financial sleight of hand the other side will attempt, our motto must be: We won’t be fooled again. I am confident that the WGAEmpowered slates – both last and this year’s – will do their best to make the strongest and most informed case for our members. We will not back down. The same goes for the continued newswriter negotiations with ABC and CBS.

We realize that a changing marketplace means that the rules are changing, too, and that we must be prepared to adapt and react at a moment’s notice. Peace with the West has helped in that regard (although I continue to oppose merger – our independence is our vigorish). So will increased cooperation and information sharing with our sister entertainment unions. Very important.

There are many other areas in which progress has been made but in which much, much more remains to be done. I’d include in that dossier continued efforts to grow our union in such spheres as animation and basic cable; increased recognition of the needs and desires of our writers in such fields as news, documentaries, daytime drama, children’s programming and variety; oversight of day-to-day union operations; more member events and better communications with our membership.

That last one is of particular interest to me. Over the years, especially as a member of the publications committee and former chair of our awards, I’ve tried to increase awareness of our union’s work not only among our members but in the outside world as well. The more the public knows about the Writers Guild and what it does, the better our position when it comes time to face off against the big shots.